


Actions Speak Louder

by elation



Category: Supernatural
Genre: A little angst, Happy Ending, I promise, M/M, Short Ficlet, but simply was written as my opinion on canon!dean, can be seen as aro!dean, i mean very little, it's supposed to be short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 11:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4827884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elation/pseuds/elation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Affection is a hard concept for Dean Winchester, his brother knows. Talking about it? Forget it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Actions Speak Louder

Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned.

When Cas comes home from “business”, bruised and beaten, Dean jumps at his angel with fear in his eyes and rigidness in his step and Cas sits on their bathroom counter while his brother stomps off to fetch a first aid kit. They stay in there for an hour, yelling and accusing and bandaging and bruising. The bunker is eerily quiet on those nights, no jokes, no family dinner. Silence.

Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned.

Cas somewhere along the way picks up the human ability of indecisiveness. Ordering meals turns into a ten-minute ordeal. The fallen angel will scrunch up his nose, and flick through the menu a good six times, front to back, before Dean will “casually remind” him that while he might still have his immortality, his counterparts will sooner die of old age in all the time it takes Cas to realize what he’s hungry for. When Cas immediately gets flustered, they bicker not unlike the old couple a few miles up from Bobby who have been married for fifty some odd years and who forget what year it is. No one wins these arguments, not ever, but the successful, yet affectionate smiles that appear on Dean’s face tells Sam that maybe that depends who you’re talking to. Their hands under the table never separate.

Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned.

When he goes looking for one of his flannels in his brother’s room one day, he is taken aback, but not surprised to find a familiar trench coat hanging in the closet, shoes neatly set up against the wall, and Cas’ god awful bumblebee pillowcase laying on the bed. A room inhabited by not one, but two. Cas’ room is down the hall, untouched. Sam slowly backs away, and never comes back. They turn the unused room into a workout area. No one complains.

Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned.

It is precisely 10:32 in the morning, on a Saturday, when Dean tells Cas he needs to learn how to drive. Dean reaches into his pocket, grabs Baby’s keys, and hands them over. They leave and don’t come back until dawn, disheveled and smiling. He’s not sure what’s more unbelievable.

Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned.

On the anniversary of Cas raising Dean from the pit, Dean asks a favor of his young brother. That night, Sam straightens Dean’s tie and rearranges a few tuffs of hair. He looks embarrassed, and he’s got a rose in his hand, but after five years, an honest to god date is in order and _damnit, man I got this _. They allow Cas to come from Charlie’s, in his own suit, and Sam watches them walk out hand in hand and doesn’t see them until the next morning.__

__Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned._ _

__Her name is Anna and the court and adoption agency have finally deemed Dean and Cas to be worthwhile candidates. No more hunting, no more running. Their new home has three bedrooms and two baths. Sam lives across the street, and they’re slowly picking up the pieces of a broken life. They’ve made it._ _

__Dean never says I love you, Sam has learned, because he doesn’t need to._ _

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this and want to reblog it on Tumblr, you can do so [here!](http://pumpkinpiejo.tumblr.com/post/128310860809/dean-never-says-i-love-you-sam-has-learned-when)


End file.
